TV White Spaces Can Help Drive the Big Dreams of Rural Small Businesses

What do a pottery-maker from rural Tennessee, a weaver from small town Wyoming, and a jewelry designer from a remote community in Montana all have in common? They can all use the internet to reach customers around the world. Broadband connectivity has enabled small business owners to share their handiwork and creative artisanship with international customers, while supporting the economy and workforce in their local communities. The success of these rapidly growing digital marketplaces depends on strong and reliable internet connectivity. In the quest for strong rural broadband connectivity, television white spaces (TVWS) are a key component to fostering small business participation in the global digital economy.

While some argue increased broadband connectivity would only help tech innovators, TVWS would bring tangible benefits to traditional businesses by helping them reach customers and markets around the globe. In fact, according to a recent World Economic Forum Report,  small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that access global markets over the internet have a survival rate of 54 percent, which is 30 percent higher than SMEs that operate offline. The inclusive nature of the digital economy allows any person with an idea and an internet connection to establish a business without borders, which is key to survival in today’s world. However, the stark fact remains — when more than 23.4 million rural Americans are without broadband connectivity, their small business big dreams are hard to realize.

A recent report by the internet marketplace Etsy found that roughly 30 percent of all American businesses and entrepreneurs who use their platform are in rural communities. In contrast to the popular perception of successful tech companies in Silicon Valley, Etsy sellers are made up of internet-enabled microbusinesses and entrepreneurs selling physical goods across the heartland, contributing to the $2.84 billion in goods sold in Etsy markets last year.

In the same way reliable broadband connectivity helps app developers reach users around the globe, television white spaces could extend America’s broadband networks to help Etsy sellers in rural areas reach consumers in international markets. Access to broadband has helped Evenlight Eagles, a Blowing Rock, NC-based leather artisan, reach a diverse consumer base and provide flexible, family-focused employment options for women in their community. It also helped Colorado-based gem maker Dani Chavez share her local-made jewelry with buyers in nearly every country of the world. Small businesses create roughly two thirds of jobs in rural America, and access to reliable broadband can help them supercharge their businesses to hire more workers and reach more customers worldwide.

Solutions like TVWS are vital to bringing broadband connectivity to communities across rural America, and give them the foundation necessary to succeed in the global economy. When more than half of all Etsy sellers use their income to pay for basic home necessities like utility bills and rent, access to the internet can help a rural small business owner thrive at home and proudly engage and grow in a global digital market. It is important that America’s rural small business entrepreneurs have a level playing field in the digital marketplace, but it’s more important that they are able to access the digital marketplace. TVWS provide a prime opportunity as the great equalizer to help bridge the digital divide and drive our heartland’s entrepreneurs.

It’s no surprise that broadband connectivity can help rural small businesses thrive and grow. As the FCC rounds out Rural Broadband Month, it is imperative that we encourage our federal agencies and elected officials to focus on rural broadband solutions like television white spaces to ensure rural communities, entrepreneurs, and small businesses can succeed in the age of the digital economy.